


On the Road

by iduna



Series: Whose Stupid Idea Was This, Anyway? [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Bonding, Chant of Light, Friendship, Nicknames
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 12:35:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16475681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iduna/pseuds/iduna
Summary: Nicknames, Cassandra's disgusted noise, and Solas gets an unwelcome surprise





	On the Road

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a slow writer. I lie to myself and say that it's because I'm busy but it's a lie. I'm just slow. I hope that you are still with me.

It was the second night after the party left Haven. Tomorrow Cassandra, Varric, Solas, and Carys would reach the Crossroads and Mother Giselle.

There had been light banter during the trip. Solas tried… and failed, to draw Carys into conversation. Only a direct question would bring any sort of answer, and then it was just the bare minimum response. One or two-word answers were all she offered, and that only if the question were not personal in nature.

The longer the silence from the Herald dragged on, the more on edge the group got. Varric watched silently as Solas became more passive aggressive in his tactics, making comments about well trained mages. Cassandra was becoming more, well, aggressive-aggressive. Her remarks were pointed barbs at Carys’ ability to ride or do things for herself.

Both Mage and Seeker were trying to start a fight, using brute force to break down the walls stone that Carys had built around her.

Varric, certain that Carys was aware of the tactics being used against her, decided on a different approach. Rogue that he was, he was going to let the first two go at the front door like a couple of battering rams. He was going to find a hidden entrance or window to climb through. Earlier in the day, he thought he found one.

All four sat around the fire after dinner. It was stew again, of course. Camp rations were never glamourous or fancy; just what you could scrounge and dump in a pot with some water. Varric watched as, once again, the Herald of Andraste merely pushed her food around in her bowl, eating none of it.

That bothered Varric more than he could say. It showed, without a doubt, that she didn’t trust them. He could see why she didn’t trust the elf, there was nothing straight forward about Solas, after all. He could see why she didn’t trust the Seeker. From what he’d heard, the first thing the Seeker did upon meeting Carys was threaten to kill her.

Varric was an innocent, though. Well innocent may be a little strong, but he hadn’t done anything untrustworthy… Toward Carys, at least.

“So, Dodgy,” Varric said, taking the bowl from Carys. “Not hungry again? That’s becoming kind of a habit.”

“I’m sorry… Dodgy?”

Varric turned around, to find her looking at him like he had three nug heads on his shoulders.

 _Excellent,_ he thought to himself. _Everyone responds to the unveiling of the nickname._

“Why… Dodgy??”

Varric sat and took a drink from a flask of whiskey. “Yep, Dodgy. I’ve been watching you. You’re good at dodging shit, so you’re Dodgy.”

She sat up straighter and squared her shoulders. “What, precisely, have I been dodging?”

Varric hid a smirk behind the flask. _This is going to be fun._

“Well, the shorter list would be of shit you don’t dodge. Don’t get me wrong, dodging is great. The best way to keep from getting caught is to not be where they expect you to be. I have lots of respect for people with your kind of skills. It’s all kinds of impressive.”

Sneaking a look around, he found that they had Solas’ and Cassandra’s attention as well. _Good. Let them see a master at work. Maybe they can learn something about talking to people._

“You dodge arrows, you dodge demons, you dodge questions; shit, I watched you dodge Leliana AND her scouts for half a day in Haven. Anyone with that kind of skill deserves credit for it. So, you’re Dodgy.”

“I… I… I could have stayed out of sight longer, but they were going to find me eventually. The Sister is very… determined.”

Laughing, Varric offered her the flask, which she refused. “She is that. The Inquisition is filled with determined people. It’s as reassuring as it is annoying, if you ask me. Mind if I ask you something?”

“If I said no, would it stop you?”

“Probably not,” Varric laughed. “It only seemed polite to ask before I tried to invade your privacy. What did you do before you went to the Conclave. If memory serves, there was about a year between the Circle of Ostwick disbanding and the explosion. I’m pretty sure you didn’t earn your keep by maging. What did you do?

“Maging… Is that even a word? I didn’t realize that mage could be used as a verb. Are you sure you write those books? Your use of language seems to be a bit dicey.”

Picking up a stick, Varric poked at the fire, then he poked the Herald a bit more. “There you go again, dodging a question. You’re good at that, deflecting one question with another. Is that something they teach you in the Mage School?”

Sighing, she took a sip of water. “It’s actually frowned upon in the Circle, so it must be a gift. I did a lot of things. Mostly, I traveled. Staying in one place was just begging for the Templars to find you. I’d make potions and sell them to merchants. Or I’d work in a kitchen for a bit of food and place to sleep. You’d be amazed at how many cooks will let you chop vegetables for them.”

“Did anyone even ask you if you were Andrastian before they hung the mantle of the Herald on you? Every time someone calls you Herald, you look like you’re sucking on a lemon.”

Carys rolled her eyes. “I was out cold when they did that, so no. They barely asked my name before they threw me at the breach. They did ask when they should kill me though. That was polite.”

Varric chuckled at that. _She’s smart. She has a good grasp of sarcasm and a sense of humor. I like her. I’m also going to get a decent book out of this. Life is looking up._

“Let me guess,” Varric laughed. “That last part was Cassandra, right? She’s pretty good at that, if memory serves. She didn’t say she was going to kill me, but she did stab me in my book.” He stole a glance at Cassandra, who blushed, then continued. “It was ‘ **The Tale of the Champion** ,’ and on my lap at the time. A few inches north and I’d be missing a friend or two.”

“Varric…” Cassandra hissed. Well not really hissed. The ‘c’ on the end was very hard. She wasn’t happy.

That didn’t deter Varric, who was on a mission.

Then he asked the question that was the point of the whole exercise. “So, are you Andrastian?”

Carys, the Herald of Andraste, took a few moments to think before she answered. This wasn’t the first time that Varric had seen her do that. It was one of her tells. She’s deciding how much of the truth to part with. He didn’t think she’d lie, she would skirt up to the unpleasant part and deflect attention, not actually answer the question. He didn’t think she was going to do that, though. _She’s gauging the room, trying to figure out if the truth is going to get her killed. I can help with that._

“Sunshine told me once that true believers were scarce in the Gallows.” Varric noticed a slight exhale, not much, but it was there. _Damn, I need to teach her to play Wicked Grace. I could make a bundle betting on her. She’s hard to read._

“She said that a lot of mages pretend, but that the locked up by the Chantry thing put a damper on belief. I was never sure where she stood personally. Hawke, either to be honest.”

Carys looked up from her plate and into Cassandra’s eyes. She took a deep breath, looked at Varric, and answered. “Not really. I believe that she existed, but I have doubts that she’s the Bride of the Maker. She was just another rebel that got caught and killed by a corrupt government. I suppose it’s possible, but I haven’t seen any evidence that would suggest it’s true.”

Leaning forward, Cassandra asked quietly. “What about the Maker, do you believe?”

“I don’t know, Cassandra,” the Herald answered. “I haven’t seen any evidence of that, either. There isn’t anything to even suggest that the Veil is anything other than a natural phenomenon.”

At that, Solas’ seemed to snap to attention. “What does the Veil have to do with the Maker?”

As Cassandra stared at Solas with incredulity, Carys answered. “According to the Chant of Light, The Maker created the Fade first, and the Spirits were the His First Children. Made in his own Image, so they say. They lacked a soul, and the Maker turned His eye from them. He created the Veil to separate the Fade from Thedas and his new children; Mankind. Then…”

She stopped the story when she realized that Solas was pale. He seemed to have stopped breathing. “Solas, are you well? Can I help,” she asked, the healer in her kicking in.

Solas looked at Carys and shook his head. “No, I am well. It just occurred to me that I hadn’t heard that story. I’ve spent little time among humans. Is that really what humans believe?”

“Most of them, Chuckles.” Varric smiled, “Of course, there are some that believe really weird shit, but the Maker is the most popular.”

Solas lifted and eyebrow and met Carys’ eye. “And you? Do you believe this?”

Looking down at her bowl and moving the contents around a bit with her spoon, Carys considered. “As I said, I see no evidence for it. The idea that there is some all powerful being that created everything but refuses to deal with the reality of It’s own creation doesn’t give me comfort.

“That being said,” she went on, “I can’t say it didn’t happen that way. I’m only saying that there is a decided lack of evidence.”

“The Chant of Light…” Cassandra started.

Carys cut her off. “Circular Reasoning, Seeker. You can’t claim that the Chant of Light is the truth by quoting the Chant of Light. Is that what passes for logic among Seekers now? I can see why things went to shit then.”

Varric almost laughed then. It’s not often that someone shut the Seeker down so decisively. Cassandra Pentaghast was so stunned, she didn’t even make the disgusted noise that Varric was becoming so fond of.

_“And He knew He had wrought amiss. So the Maker turned from His firstborn and took from the Fade a measure of it’s living flesh, and placed it apart from the Spirits, and spoke to it, saying: Here, I decree opposition in all things: For earth, sky; For Winter, summer; For darkness, Light. By My Will alone is Balance sundered and the world given new life._

“That’s what the Chant says, Solas, and what the Chantry teaches.” Carys looked at the older mage, “Personally, I think it’s allegory, but others take it as fact. Your choice. Whichever you choose, it’s written badly.”

With a slight grin and an arched eyebrow, she looked at Varric. “Maybe you should take a look at it. There might be a market for a rewrite.”

Cassandra’s disapproval was heard, loudly in the camp, followed by Varric’s laughter. 

**Author's Note:**

> The Chant of Light says that the maker created the Veil. Solas created the Veil. So, according to the Chantry, Solas would be the Maker. He'd hate it, the Chantry would hate it, but it's the way BioWare wrote it. It's their playground, I'm just on the merry go round. Anyway, the usual stuff... As previously mentioned, I'm a slow writer. Kudos and comments help a bit. They at least make me think that I'm not crap at this so....


End file.
